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Tuesday, 30 June 2015

Today is Asteroid Day. Its main
objective is to raise awareness of the many hundreds of asteroids which cross
Earth’s orbit and have a possibility of crashing into it one day, and try to
work out what to do about it. There are several “close shaves” each year, and
one in 2013 by asteroid Duende (on the same day as another one made that
spectacular impact in Russia that hit the headlines) actually got closer than
most geostationary satellites! Over 700 of these Near Earth Objects, as they’re
called, have been discovered so far this year! But, for me, it gives me the
opportunity to return to the subject of asteroids named after members of the
lgbt community and their allies.As before I’ve listed them in order of
discovery. Once discovered each asteroid’s orbit is calculated, and if it
proves to be a new one it is given an official number (the number I give in
brackets before each of the name). Later the International Astronomical Union,
who govern these things, approves a name for the asteroid. Since the 1970s these
new names have been published in the bulletin of the Minor Planets Center, by
which means it becomes official. A citation is often given to explain the name,
and I’ve included these in quotation marks. I’ve added a comment or two of my
own after the quotation to highlight any other lgbt link.In the original “Out of This World”
series I included asteroids with names created in the works of lgbt writers
(e.g. Neverland, and Moomintroll). I’ve included more today. The huge amount of
newly discovered asteroids (nearly 48,000 have been discovered this year so
far, and we’re only half way through it!) means that I can bring you more lists
like this every year. I’ve also linked some names to articles I’ve written
about each individual.(80)
SapphoDiscovered 2 May 1864.“Named in honour of the renowned Greek
lyric poetess (610 BC) who threw herself into the ocean because of her
unrequited love for the young Phaon.”(563)
SuleikaDiscovered 6 Apr 1905.“Named for a character in ‘Also Sprach
Zarathustra’ (1885) by the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
(1844-1900). Suleika and Dudu are mentioned in part IV in the chapter ‘Unter
Töchtern der Wüste’. These are the only feminine characters in Zarathustra.”(564)
DuduDiscovered 9 May 1905.“Named for a character in ‘Also Sprach
Zarathustra’ (1885) by the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
(1844-1900).”(763)
CupidoDiscovered 25 Sept 1913.“Named after the Roman god of erotic love because of its
relatively small distance from the Sun.”(1010)
MarleneDiscovered 12 Nov 1923.“The name honours the Berlin born
motion picture star Maria Magdalena von Losch alias Marlene Deitrich
(1901-1992).”(1221)
AmorDiscovered 12 Mar 1932.“Amor is the Latin name for the Greek Eros, the god of love. Like (433)
Eros this planet makes close approaches to Earth.”(1730)
MarcelineDiscovered 17 Oct 1936. Name published 8
Apr 1982.“Named for the heroine of
André Gide’s novel ‘L’Immoraliste’. As a beautiful and devoted young wife
Marceline nursed her husband from the brink of death to robust health. When
soon afterward Marceline became ill her husband benignly neglected her.
Marceline suffered much physical and mental anguish and finally died needlessly.”(5148)
GiordanoDiscovered 17 Oct 1960. Name published 1
Sept 1993.“Named in honour of Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), Dominican priest, who spent 16 years travelling through
Europe, but who was mostly in London, where many of his papers were published.
Bruno assumed the existence of other worlds on which people could live, and he
was convinced of the correctness of the heliocentric system. This brought him
in conflict with the church and he was condemned and burned on the Campo dei
Fiori in Rome.”(1943)
AnterosDiscovered 13 Mar 1973. Named published
1978.“Anteros was in attendance
upon Eros and was sometimes said to be the avenger of slighted over, sometimes
the one who opposes love, and was said by other authorities to be the twin
brother of Eros.”(3826)
HandelDiscovered 27 Oct 1973. Name published
27 Aug 1988.“Named for the
illustrious composer George Friedrich Handel (1685-1759). Although his greatest
works were composed after he moved to England, Handel was born in Halle, only
some 60 km from Tautenberg.”(3318)
BlixenDiscovered 23 Apr 1985. Name published
18 Sept 1986.“Named in memory of
the celebrated Danish writer Karen Blixen (1885-1962) on the hundredth
anniversary of her birth. Among her best known writings are ‘Seven Gothic Tales’
(1934) and the memory-novel ‘Out of Africa’ (1937). An American screen version
of the latter was produced in 1985.”(6549)
SkryabinDiscovered 13 Aug 1988. Name published 5
Mar 1996.“Named in memory of the
Russian composer Alexandr Nikolaevich Skryabin (1872-1915). Though one of the
most fascinating phenomena at the beginning of the 20th century, his music was
largely unappreciated because of his contradictory philosophical ideas. His
most important symphonies, sonatas and other pieces for the piano were composed
to an ever-increasing degree following his bold aim to create a mystery that should unite all the arts
in a grand liturgical-artistical action to uplift and redeem humanity above
itself into a condition of supreme ecstasy.”(4382)
StravinskyDiscovered 29 Nov 1989. Name published 8
June 1990.“Named in memory of the
famous composer Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), known for his very versatile
musical creations, including ballet music and operas... Born in Russia,
Stravinsky lived in Switzerland and France before moving to the United States
in 1939.”(8676)
LullyDiscovered 2 Feb 1992. Name published 20
Nov 2002.“Jean-Baptiste Lully
(1632-1687), an Italian-French composer, created very lively style of
composition by introducing quicker dances such as the bourée, gavotte and gigue into his ballets. A beautiful
example of his music is ‘La Marche des Combattans’.”(13602)
PierreboulezDiscovered 10 Aug 1994. Name published 2
June 2015.“Pierre Boulez (b.1925)
is a French composer, conductor and pianist. As a child he showed a great
aptitude for music and mathematics. He discovered the twelve-tone technique and
wrote atonic music in a post-Weberian style.”(13223)
CenaceneriDiscovered 13 Aug 1997. Name published
23 May 2000.“ ‘La Cena della Ceneri’
(‘The Dinner of the Ashes’) is a work by the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno
(1548-1600) in which, for the first time in Western philosophical thought,
there is discussion of the infinity of worlds in the universe.” It wasn’t the
infinity of worlds which earned him condemnation from the Church (they had no
problem with that idea) but his belief that a separate Christ inhabits each and
every one of them, and the Church taught that Christ was unique.15959)
RhaeticusDiscovered 17 Jan 1998. Name published 9
Mar 2002.“Rhaeticus (Georg Joachim
Lauchen, 1514-1574) was a humanist, physician, mathematician and astronomer at
the universities of Vienna, Leipzig and Wittenburg. He summarised and
popularised the work of his teacher Copernicus, initiating the first printing
of ‘De Revolutionibus’.”(342843)
DavidbowieDiscovered 21 Dec 2008. Name published 5
Jan 2015“David Bowie (David Robert
Jones, b.1947) is a British musician, singer, producer and actor. He started
his career in the 1960s and became widely known in the early 1970s. One of the
most influential artists, he has released more than 25 albums and has stared in
several movies like ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘Prestige’.”ASTEROID
ALLIES19175)
PeterpiotDiscovered 2 Aug 1991. Name published 8
Oct 2014.“Peter Piot (b.1949), a
Belgian physician, co-discovered the ebola virus in Zaire in 1976. In addition
to providing the foundations of our understanding of HIV infection, he is the
author of 16 books and 500 scientific articles. He has been the director of the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine since 2010.”(6692)
AntonínholýDiscovered 18 Apr 1985. Name published 2
June 2015.“Antonín Holý (1936–2012)
was a renowned Czech chemist who significantly contributed to the development
of antiretroviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV and hepatitis B. He was
the author of more than 400 scientific papers and was awarded with honorary
degrees from several universities at home and abroad.”

Saturday, 27 June 2015

All around the UK today
there’ll by military bands and soldiers parading through towns and cities for
our annual Armed Forces Day. Each year one city hosts the main national celebration,
and I remember well the parade in Nottingham when it was hosted here 2 years
ago.Today it seems impossible
to have a military parade without a marching band. But that’s how they were
until about 350 years ago when a courtier adapted an idea from the Turks and
applied it to the French army.There are two types of
military music. First is the music played on the battlefield. This can be
imagined in the bugle charges of the cavalry, or the solitary bagpipe. The
Turks had a particular type of band who would gather around their military
standard during battle and play loud music to reassure the soldiers that their
standard was still flying. This military band was a small group of perhaps ten
musicians.The Turks had an elite
fighting force called the Janissaries and they seem to have been the first to
form these small military bands in the 1330s. As well as performing on the
battlefield the Janissary bands also played at ceremonial events and parades,
and it is this second type which influenced the creation of the modern military
parade. The ceremonial use of military music has survived and flourished more
than the music of the battlefield.The first European power
to use recognisably Turkish military music was Poland, in a fusion with
European music which quickly spread westwards. What made these military bands
sound Turkish was the introduction of instruments not used in European music –
big bass drums and cymbals. Imagine a modern marching band without them! And
there was one new instrument developed by the Europeans especially to make
military bands sound more Turkish – the triangle. Yes, that small bit of bent
metal rod in a shape that has its own resonance in lgbt heritage was invented
to create a feel of the Ottoman Empire.With these new instruments
and the traditional European forefathers of the oboe and trombone the modern
military band was formed. This combination was pioneered by that French
courtier I mentioned back at the top of this article. But what is most
significant about his contribution to military bands is that he decided to put
the band among the ranks of the marching soldiers instead of have them stand to
one side – he invented the marching band. His name was Jean-Baptiste Lully
(1632-1687).An Italian by birth Lully
was appointed Superintendent of the Royal Music by the French King Louis XIV.
Several important changes were being made in the military during King Louis’s
reign. First was the establishing of Europe’s first full-time standing army.
Next was the introduction of the flintlock musket and bayonet. Then there was
the close formation marching. It was only natural that Lully would be dragged
in to write the first military marches.Lully was already
experienced in writing music for people to move by. He was an enthusiastic
dancer (he first met the king at a dance) and working with the royal dance
master Lully created the first modern ballets. King Louis’ enthusiasm for the
ballet and opera faded in the 1680s, and he became tired of Lully’s open gay
relationships. Louis apparently knew of several courtiers who had homosexual
affairs, and one of Lully’s with a young “music page” called Brunet attracted
too much notice.Here’s one final
connection between the modern military marching band and Lully. During Lully’s
lifetime the method of conducting a band or orchestra was with the use of a
large staff which the conductor tapped onto the floor to help keep time. Lully
used one of these staffs to conduct the royal orchestra in a celebration of the
king’s recovery from surgery.During the performance
Lully jabbed himself in the foot. Rather vainly he refused to have the foot
amputated because it would mean he wouldn’t be able to dance. Gangrene set in,
which spread to his brain and he died.And the connection to
modern marching bands? Who do you see marching at the front of the band? A man
with a big staff, just like the one that killed Lully.

Wednesday, 24 June 2015

Writing about Sergei
Eisenstein’s father being an architect in my City Pride article of Riga last
week got me thinking about what buildings have been designed by lgbt architects.Art and design has many
well-known lgbt contributors but architecture still seems to have a macho,
heterosexual feel about it. This is despite the fact that my lgbt database
lists over 50 lgbt architects in the last hundred years (including several
Gay/Out/EuroGames medallists and a former Mr Gay Mexico). However, I suspect
that because the general public just sees the buildings and doesn’t think about
the architect makes them virtually anonymous. It’s only when the building
creates some controversy or is especially significant that the architect’s name
is remembered.The diversity of styles
and construction methods of buildings are as varied as the people who design
them. To illustrate this here is a diverse group of lgbt architects and their
designs which have influenced the world.Let’s start in Ancient
Greece. Many of the architects of the Greek temples and buildings will
undoubtedly have indulged in the traditional mentor-student sexual
relationships their culture favoured. One in particular is well known, mainly
because one building he helped to create is an iconic example of Ancient Greek
architecture – the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens. Although primarily
regarded as a sculptor Phidias was
the architectural supervisor on the project.During my first weeks writing this blog games I wrote about Phidias and his
contribution to Olympian architecture, and his young lover’s contribution to
Olympic sport.

The Classical styles of
Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire became very popular after the Renaissance
of the 14th century. As we commemorate the 200th
anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo this month we can picture the imperial
architecture of the Napoleonic Empire with its Classical style triumphal arches
and interior designs. The style is so distinctive. Among the triumphal arches
is one built near the Louvre and the Tuilleries. It was designed by the two
architects who created the Imperial Napoleonic style, Pierre François LéonardFontaine
(1762-1853) and Charles Percier-Bassant
(1764-1838).Some lgbt sites say
Fontaine and Percier-Bassant were a gay couple. It is true that they spent most
of their lives together, but it would be better if someone found proper
confirming evidence.In another part of Europe
a generation later one gay monarch influenced the design of several fairy tale
castles that would not look out of place in Disneyland. King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886) got his architects to create
some of the most fantastic castles and grottoes. One castle, Neuschwanstein
(pictured left), is so well known that most people call it the “Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang” castle because it was a major location for that film.Speaking of Disneyland –
Cinderella’s castle was directly influence by Neuschwanstein. Over the years the
Disney corporation has commissioned several world-renowned lgbt architects like
Philip Johnson and Robert Stern to design various buildings.Now we’ll move into just
about every metropolitan city in the world. You can’t go anywhere in a city
without seeing a skyscraper. The man often described as the “Father of the
Skyscraper” is Louis Sullivan
(1856-1924). The actual “father” should really be William LeBaron Jenney,
the architect Louis worked for in Chicago, though Louis did pioneer a new
method of constructing high-rise buildings which led the way for the skyscrapers
we see today.One neat little visual
trick Louis used on most of his skyscrapers was to put vertical strips on the
outside walls which made them look taller.There was a time when the
biggest buildings in any city, town or village in Europe was a church. The
gothic architecture of Medieval churches is so familiar to us that we sometimes
don’t realise that some Gothic architecture isn’t Medieval. Ralph Adam Cram (1863-1942) designed
many churches in the Gothic Revival or New-Gothic style that became popular in
the Victorian period.Cram was a devout High
Church Anglican. His contribution to the design and construction of so many
churches in America earned him a place in the liturgical calendar of the US
Episcopal Church. He is venerated as a saint with a feast day on 16th
December, his birthday.So far we’ve looked at
public, commercial and ecclesiastical architecture. What about domestic
architecture – people’s homes?One of the few female
architects pioneered several eco-designs. Eleanor
Raymond (1887-1989) favoured the simple functional design of New England
homes and avoided a lot of the fancy decoration that was popular when she
opened her architectural office in 1928. Of particular importance in Eleanor’s
work is her use of solar panels from the 1940s, one design element that only
now seems to be considered an essential part of many building’s design.This has been just a small
cross section of the many lgbt architects. What they have in common is that
they were influenced by, and were influences for, other architects to the
present day. Even if some of their buildings no longer exist their
architectural legacies show that their ideas were “Built to Last”.

Sunday, 21 June 2015

Last time : 32) Niels Bukh
(1880-1950) developed a
form of gymnastics that was adopted by the Japanese military in which 33) Goh Mishima (1921-1989) served. Goh
was a pseudonym adopted after the death of his friend 34) Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), who encouraged him to pursue more
sado-masochistic representation in his art, the “sado” being named after 35) the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814),
whose ancestors were Lords of Lesbos, the island home of 36) Sappho(6th-7th
century BC).

36)
Sappho was a lyric
poet, one of the first female poets whose name is known to us. Most of her life
has been reconstructed through her poems, some of which are considered to be
autobiographical.During ancient times and
during the Roman period Sappho’s reputation as a poet was high. The “Dark Ages”
lost much of the knowledge and literature of the ancient world after the fall
of the Roman Empire, and the Eastern Byzantine empire decided to drop the study
of Sappho from their academies. Consequently, very little of her work was
copied out and distributed, leaving the few fragments that remain from ancient
Greece. Sappho’s popularity re-emerged after the redistribution of ancient
texts during the Renaissance of the 14th century. Even then, it was
her use of grammar that was more important than her poetry.Sappho’s poetry describes
love for both men and women, and it is the references to the latter which led
to 19th century writers to adapt her name and that of Lesbos as
poetic named for female same-sex desire.As a lyric poet, as
opposed to a heroic epic poet in the manner of Homer, Sappho is regarded as the
first romantic poet in history. In several of her poems she uses the wedding
ceremony as a theme. In the article I posted at the beginning of May about the hawthorn
I mentioned how the plant was sacred to Hymenaios, the god of the wedding
ceremony. I also mentioned that Sappho provided the first written reference to
Hymenaios and weddings.In another of Sappho’s wedding-related
poems she includes the popular notion in Ancient Greece that when a couple
marry they become “as gods”, acknowledging the heroic tradition in poetry by
praising the bridegroom for his bravery in battle with terminology found in
Homer’s Trojan epics. Classical scholars have ascribed an identity to Sappho’s
anonymous bridegroom based on these phrases she used, and that person is 37) Achilles, the legendary Greek hero
of the Trojan War.37)
Achilles has his own
links with Lesbos. Bring only a few miles from the fabled Troy it’s no surprise
that it finds its way into the Trojan stories. Traditional belief on Lesbos
says that it was Achilles who took the island from the Phrygians for the
Greeks. Some of the women were taken as slaves, including Briseis with whom
Achilles was particularly taken with.But before all that
Achilles displayed some transvestite/lesbian behaviour of his own.As a youth Achilles was
sent by his mother to live at the court of the king of Skyros to avoid being
called up to fight in the Trojan War. To further her plan she disguised
Achilles as girl. In fact, the ancient poems say that Achilles learnt how to
talk and walk like a woman and was so good that he fooled everyone for several
years.However, Achilles fell in
love with the king’s daughter, Deidamia. Still disguised as a woman Achilles
suggested they shared companionship in the bed at night, justifying it by
saying that other women do it so why don’t they. The princess was still unaware
of his true gender and it gives the incident a lesbian flavour. His romantic
words as recorded in the surviving poems are reminiscent of those written by
the only ancient poet who gave desire a female voice, 36) Sappho, which indicates the writer knew of her work.Achilles then reveals his
true gender to Deidamia and they continue with the pretence for several more
years – they have two children before another Greek hero, Odysseus, arrives and
“outs” Achilles as a man. Achilles then has no choice but to go off to the
Trojan War.During the war Achilles
forms an equally loving and deep relationship with someone else, a fellow
soldier, 38)Patroclus. I’ve often commented on the same-sex coupling in the
ancient gymnasiums where both Achilles and Patroclus would have trained. What
seems to be more than just the traditional coupling in this case is the fact
that both men are apparently of the same age and display strong emotional bonds
contrary to the man-youth norm. By the time they were fighting in the Trojan
War both were expected to have formed relationships with younger men, but they
hadn’t. The reaction of Achilles to the death of Patroclus is a strong
indication of their love, whichever form it took.The “lesbian” episode on
Achilles and Deidamia leads us back to Lesbos and Sappho. Around 600 BC Sappho
was exiled from Lesbos after a political coup. What is ironic is that during
the later Roman and Byzantine periods the island became neglected and was used
as a place where politicians were exiled to. It was not the place to be seen.Not, that is, until 1354
when a Genoese freebooter came to the aid of Emperor John V who had been
“retired” to Lesbos by his deposer. Having helped John to regain his throne the
freebooter was rewarded by having the emperor’s sister in marriage and being
made Lord of Lesbos. The new lord regenerated the island back to the centre of
trade and commerce it once was. His direct descendant was 35) the Marquis de Sade.Emperor John V was one of
the lucky ones. He was exiled returned and died of old age. Other emperors were
assassinated, as happened to 39) Emperor
Mikhael III (840-867).

Thursday, 18 June 2015

There can’t be that many
cities that host 3 Pride festivals at the same time, but Riga, the capital city
of Latvia, is doing just that this week.Not only is Riga holding
it’s annual Riga Pride, but it’s also this city’s turn to hold Baltic Pride
(alternating between Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), and has been chosen to
host Euro Pride 2015.Lgbt rights in Latvia
still face many of the problems encountered in other former Eastern block
nations where homophobia is still rampant. As a relatively small nation there
is just a small lgbt community to go with it, with the only real visible
presence of that community in Riga itself.In celebration of this
week’s Riga/Baltic/Euro Pride I’ve selected a few locations for my latest City
Pride map.

1)
Graduate School of Law
– A privately-governed law school co-founded by the Latvian and Swedish
governments in 1998 and set up by lawyer Linda Freimane, who became its first
Pro-Rector. Linda became a board member of the International Gay and Lesbian
Association, and is a founder member of Mozaika (see no.4)2)
Skonto Hall – Venue for
the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest final. The television commentator for the host
broadcast was Lativa’s only openly gay broadcaster, Karlis Streips. Although he
was born in the USA Karlis’s parents came from Riga and he has worked for
Latvian tv since the mid-1990s. Karlis is no stranger to Eurovision – he has
commented several times, and in 2012 actually co-wrote one of the songs that
made the national selection final (it came last).3)
“The House on the Corner”
– This name, spoken with hushed voice during the Soviet era, was the KGB
headquarters in Latvia. Many gay men were persecuted by the KGB and this
building was where many were interrogated in the desire to discover secret
enemies of the USSR. In 2014 it was opened as a museum and site of remembrance
for all victims of the KGB in Latvia.4)
Mozaika – The location
of the head office of Mozaika, Latvia’s leading lgbt rights organisation. It
was founded in 2006 in response to homophobic reaction to Riga’s first Pride
march the previous year. Mozaika organised subsequent Riga Pride and Friendship
Days, and created Baltic Pride in 2009. Its logo was designed by the partner of
Linda Freimane (see no.1).5)
Verman Gardens - Venue
for several of Riga’s Pride and Friendship Days. The first to take place here
in 2007, was attended by about 800 marchers. It was marred by anti-gay
protestors through large fireworks into the park, injuring some of the
marchers.6)
AIDS Memorial – A line
of cobbled stones recalls the names of people who have died from AIDS-related
causes, not necessarily of Latvian nationality. Names inscribed on the stones
include Rudolf Nureyev, Freddie Mercury and Anthony Perkins. It was created in
1993.7)
Doma Square – Two
memorial stones were laid in the square in April 1993 to remember AIDS victims.
Riga hosted a World Health Organisation conference where 39 countries created
an initiative, called the Riga Initiative, to tackle the spread of HIV in
Eastern Europe after the collapse of the USSR.8)
The Parliament Building
– This is where the nation’s government sits, including Latvia’s only openly
gay elected member, Edgars Rinkevics (b.1973). He is currently the Minister for
Foreign Affairs. The government decriminalised homosexuality shortly after
gaining independence from the USSR in 1992. Same-sex marriage, however, was
banned by law in 2006.9)
No. 6, Valdemara Street
– There’s only one really famous lgbt person I can find who was born in Riga,
and that person is Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948). He was born at this address
and lived in a third floor apartment until 1916. A plaque on the wall
commemorates his birth. Although he is best known outside Riga as a film
director, he is equally well-known in Latvia as the son of a leading art
nouveau architect. A lot of the fabulous buildings in Riga were designed by
Eisenstein’s father who even has a street named after him.

Monday, 15 June 2015

Today is the official celebration for
the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.The Magna Carta has become a symbol of
rights and freedoms in society and even though it was only legal for 9 weeks
back in 1215 its legacy has influenced later declarations of human rights that
are in existence today. What I’d like to show today is that many lgbt
activists, whether they campaign for lgbt rights, women’s rights, or human
rights in general, have Magna Carta “in their blood”.Hundreds of thousands of lgbt people
descend from either King John or one (or more) of the 25 barons who acted as
sureties, a group regarded among American genealogists as being as significant
as signatories of the Declaration of Independence or Revolutionary soldiers.
Although I wouldn’t regard myself as an activist I can claim descent from King
John and 15 of the 17 surety barons who left descendants. There are no living
descendants of the other 8 barons.Statistically speaking it’s impossible
for anyone of English descent NOT to have at least one Magna Carta ancestor.
You’ll be surprised by the famous activists, revolutionaries, freedom fighters
and campaigners who do (for example, most of the leaders of the American War of
Independence, leading members in the English Civil War, and several leaders of
the French Revolution).I’ve chosen a representative group of
lgbt activists and campaigners and have shown their Magna Carta ancestors on
the chart below. Going into detail would take up a huge amount of space so I’ve
written only a short description of the individual’s campaigning career and
indicated their Magna Carta ancestors using the numbers given.There’s one oddity which the chart
reveals. Of King John and the 17 barons who have many thousands of living
descendants walking around today, not one of the selected lgbt activists is
descended from one of those barons - Sir Geoffrey de Say. Neither am I, but
lots of people are. Its just one of those things.1)
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) - Social
reformer and campaigner for women’s rights. She was an anti-slavery activist in
the 1850s before concentrating of women’s suffrage, being President of the
National Women’s Suffrage Association 1892-1900. The 10th Amendment
to the US Constitution giving women the vote is known as the Anthony Amendment.2)
George Byron, Lord Byron (1788-1824) - Before finding fame as a Romantic poet Byron sat in the
House of Lords. His maiden speech was in defence of the Luddites of Nottingham,
weavers who were smashing the new machines that were taking their work and
livelihood away. Parliament decreed that Luddites be executed, and Byron
defended their right to live and work. At the end of his life Byron fought with
the Greeks in their fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire.3)
Hon. Sir Ewan Forbes, 11th Baronet (1912-1991) - Born female and the youngest child of a
Scottish baronet, Sir Ewan successfully fought to have his birth certificate
changed by law after his transition. He then succeeded in a court case over the
family title against a male cousin who didn’t recognise Sir Ewan’s gender.4)
Eva Gore-Booth (1870-1926) - Eva
fought against her privileged background and was also an active suffragette,
founding a branch of the Irish Women’s Suffrage Association in Sligo. With her
lover Esther Roper she became co-secretary of the Women’s Textile and Other
Workers Representation Committee. Eva was also an Irish nationalist and
campaigned for the release of nationalists who were imprisoned as traitors, one
of whom was her sister Constance, Countess Markiewicz, the first women elected
to the UK parliament.5)
Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) - One
of the Founding Fathers of the USA, a veteran of the War of Independence, and
co-founder of the Federalist Party.6)
Harry Hay (1912-2002) - A
leading figure in gay rights in the USA. He co-founded the Mattachine Society
in 1951, one of the most influential pre-Stonewall organisations which lobbied
the US government for equal rights. Later he went on to be elected Chair of the
Southern California Gay Liberation Front, and co-founded the Radical Faeries.7)
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) - First
Lady of America, humanitarian and diplomat. In 1948 Eleanor was chosen to chair
the committee which drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.8)
Dame Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) - Having
fought against her family to pursue what they regarded as an unfeminine career
as a composer Ethel used her talents in the suffragette movement by composer
their anthem “The March of the Women”. Her own campaigning for votes for women
earned her a prison sentence.9)
John Addington Symonds (1840-1893) - Although
he never came out as a homosexual in his lifetime Symonds’ writings displayed
more than a hint to his sexuality. His defence of the homosexual lifestyle was
daring for his time. In his writings he advocated the decriminalisation of
homosexual acts.

Saturday, 13 June 2015

Have you ever wanted to
have dinner in the company of great figures from lgbt history like Benjamin
Britten, Lawrence of Arabia or Dusty Springfield? Well, you can. You can enjoy
the summer with a picnic in your garden or local park with all of three, and
more.This variation of the
fantasy dinner party idea where you take the meal outdoors and have the actual
people present, not in flesh and blood but as flowers in the garden. If you’ve
got green fingers you can create you own garden of gay blooms. Many garden
flowers and plants are named after real people, just like the asteroids I’ve
featured in my “Out of This World” series.Let’s start by looking at
the most popular garden flower of all, the rose. As well as what I’d call the
“usual suspects” (i.e. those particularly well-known people who have just about
anything named after them, like Leonardo da Vinci, or Tchaikovsky) there’s a
wide range of lgbt people who have a rose named after them.I’ve listed some roses
below which you might like. I give the name of the rose first followed by a
little information about each of them.Freddie
Mercury – Named after
the lead singer of Queen. It was first propagated in 1992, the year after his
death. His fan club raised the money to register his name for this rose. The
first Freddie mercury rose was given to his mother and sister, who live here in
Nottingham. Freddie’s favourite roses were yellow, and the rose named after him
is yellow with a pink tint to the edge of the petals. You can often see this
rose on sale at Queen conventions.Mrs.
Franklin D. Roosevelt –
named after the First Lady of America, Eleanor Roosevelt. It is highly
appropriate that Eleanor has a rose named after her because, as I explained in
her “Queer Achievement” article, the family uses the rose as a family emblem.
The “Mrs. Franklin D Roosevelt” is a hybrid tea rose first propagated in 1933.
Eleanor remarked, “I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description
in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.”Dusty
Springfield – a light
pink floribunda rose named after the popular singer. It was bred by one of the
UK’s leading rose-breeders in 2001.Friedrich
Albert Krupp – named
after one of the greatest industrialists in German who lived at the end of the
19th century. The rose was bred in Germany in 1903, the year after
his death. The flowers of this hybrid tea rose are similar to the “Freddie
Mercury” rose but smaller.Karen
Blixen – one of the
whitest of white roses available. It was first propagated in 1994 and was named
after the author of “Out of Africa”. The heavily fragrant flowers grow in
clusters like an instant bouquet.Benjamin
Britten – appropriately
for a typically English composer, the Benjamin Britten rose is a soft red
colour. It has orange tinges when it first blooms and the colour deepens as the
days pass. It has a fruity fragrance, described as having aspects of wine and
pear drops.Lawrence
of Arabia – if you want
a really showy rose, then go for this one named after the famous adventurer,
soldier and writer. It is a hybrid tea rose, first propagated in 1988. The
flowers have a deep yellow-orange heart and the outer petals blend into pink
edges.I hope this short wander
through the lgbt rose garden has inspired you to go out and create your own
fantasy picnic garden, or, if you haven’t got a garden, go out to your local
park and enjoy the company of some famous-named roses.No doubt I’ll return to
the garden in the future with more rosy guests.

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

[Achievement
– the name given in heraldry to the full pictorial representation of a coat of
arms.]To celebrate this year’s
International Heraldry Day today I’m presenting another heraldic alphabet, the
first of which I did last year. I enjoyed compiling it so much that I’ve done a
brand new one.As with last year’s list
all the people whose coats of arms are represented here are from the lgbt
community and come from several countries and from several time periods.Most of the designs are of
the coats of arms of the individual’s family rather than the individual
her/himself. There may be small and subtle differences which each individual is
entitle to display. Also, as before, several of the arms have been featured in
previous “Queer Achievement” articles.All of the arms shown have
been officially recognised by the heraldic authorities in their respective
countries – except one. The arms of George Ives is that of his father. Being
illegitimate George wasn’t entitled to inherit his father’s arms under English
law, but as he was accepted as a full member of the Ives family I’ve decided to
include it.There is also an example
of what is called “assumed” arms. Sir Robert d’Oilly lived during a period
before the modern concept of heraldry developed. In a future article I’ll
explain more about these “assumed” arms and why they were created.I’ve used several
different methods of depicting female coats of arms. For unmarried women like
Anne Lister and Sarah Ponsonby I’ve shown their paternal arms, the only ones
they could have used in their lifetime. For married women I’ve used 3 methods -
for Rosamund Grosvenor, Violet Trefusis and Virginia Woolf I’ve shown their
pre-marital paternal arms, for Helen von Zuylen I’ve shown her husband’s arms,
and for Vita Sackville-West I’ve shown her marital arms. All methods are
technically correct.So, here is my lgbt
heraldic alphabet for International Heraldry Day 2015.

Monday, 8 June 2015

LAST TIME : 29) Bob Benny came last in the 1961 Eurovision Song
Contest when “nil points” was given to him by the Danish jury spokesman,
a well-known broadcaster called Claus Toksvig, whose broadcasting daughter 30) SandiToksvig, studied archaeology. Sandi’s fellow Danish archaeologist
and Claus’s broadcasting predecessor on Danish national radio, 31) Eigil Knuth, trained as a gym
teacher at the college founded by 32)
Niels Bukh.

32)
Niels Bukh (1880-1950)
has gone down in lgbt history as a misguided villain who was, almost
unwittingly at first, dragged into the Nazi propaganda machine. I wrote about
his involvement in the Olympic Games of a century ago here.
Today we’ll look at how his gymnastic training influence another nation.Niels founded his
world-renowned gymnastics training college at Ollerup, Denmark, in 1920. The
touring troupe formed from his star pupils became very popular, performing
around the world. It was at this time that 31)
Eigil Knuth attended the college and graduated as a teacher. Eigil decided,
however, to pursue a career in archaeology, though I imagine the physical
training he received proved beneficial on his many expeditions trudging across
the harsh environments of Greenland.While Bukh’s reputation
and the propaganda value to the Nazis of his young, muscle-bound gym troupe was
growing his gymnastic techniques were beginning to be just as influential to
another power in World War II, Japan where he and his troupe toured in 1931. The
tour was soon hijacked by the Japanese government, whose own militaristic
expansion led to the invasion of Manchuria during the tour’s progress. The
remainder of the tour was used as propaganda by the military government who,
like the Nazis, saw the gymnasts as examples of superior manhood and
discipline.The Japanese also saw
Niels Bukh’s gym techniques as being perfect for the training of their troops
who were now mobilised in their thousands to “pacify” the newly conquered
Manchurians. In 1937 the government formally adopted Bukh’s gym training as
compulsory for their troops and schools. Although gymnastic techniques have
evolved since then, Japan is still the only country in the world which uses
Bukh-inspired gym training in schools.So, it is safe to assume
that every Japanese schoolboy after 1937 has been trained in Bukh’s techniques.
This includes an artist and former Japanese World War II veteran whose meeting
with a famous author in a gym led to a change of name and an artistic passion
for a fetish. That artist was 33) Goh
Mishima (1924-1989).In the aftermath of the
war Goh Mishima began frequenting the underground gay bar culture in Tokyo and
became involved with the Yakuza, a Japanese mafia-style network where
hyper-masculinity, violent behaviour and body tattoos were the norm. This was
to influence his artwork.In 1955, while training in
a gym, Goh met that famous author I mentioned, 34) Yukio Mishima (1925-1970). They struck up a friendship
immediately and recognised that they had so much in common, including BDSM –
bondage, domination and sado-masochism. It was Yukio who suggested to Goh that
he should include more graphic BDSM imagery in his already homoerotic art.
After Yukio Mishima committed suicide in 1970, Goh (who’s real name was
Tsuyoshi Yoshida) adopted Mishima’s name as his artistic pseudonym and his art
became more violent and explicit.Japan took to BDSM in a
way that surprises the West. In fact, some BDSM practices in the West today
originated in Japan, in particular a type of tight rope-binding technique. The
whole culture of BDSM has moved on from the deliberate, cruel, torture
techniques practiced by one of its most famous practitioners. The “S” in BDSM
is named after the notorious 35)
Donatien Alphonse François, the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814).The Marquis de Sade’s
reputation is legendary. It is also factual. There are very good reasons why
the word “sadistic” is named after him. His father may also have been quite
sadistic, and both father and son displayed homosexual tendencies. The famous
Marquis spent many years in prison and had his wife have an enormous ebony
dildo made for him to keep himself “happy” every morning in his cell!For two centuries de
Sade’s reputation had been a blot on his family’s honour to the extent that
they avoided using their title. However, during last year’s bicentenary
commemoration of the Marquis’ death the present family changed their mind.
Today the current Marquis de Sade is more than proud to use the title of his
famous ancestor. And it is his more ancient ancestry where a sharp contrast
towards names is displayed by the inhabitants of an island over which de Sade’s
ancestors once ruled – Lesbos.The Byzantine emperor gave
the title of Lord of Lesbos to his son-in-law, an ancestor of the Marquis de
Sade. The name of the island of Lesbos is the origin the word “lesbian” (with a
small “l”). The island’s inhabitants, the Lesbians (with a capital “L”), didn’t
like the sexual connotations this name had given them since the 10th
century. Even today Lesbians prefer the abandonment of lesbian as a description
of sexual orientation (despite having benefitted from decades of lesbian
tourism and income).The whole association of
Lesbos and lesbian goes back to ancient Greece and the world’s first named
female poet in history who lived on the islands, 36) Sappho (6th-7th century BC).

Friday, 5 June 2015

Regular readers will
already have sinned with me on this blog with Anger
and Gluttony. We sin again today with Greed. As
with the other sins greed is represented in Medieval Christian folklore by a
colour, on this occasion yellow. So let’s put Greed on our Rainbow Sins flag.

Before we look at sinful
Greed in lgbt heritage let’s look at how it has been defined. In some lists
Greed is replaced with Avarice or Covetousness, but they mean much the same
thing. The concept hasn’t changed much since Greed first appeared on a list of
Christian sins in the 4th century as “philargyria”. This translates
as “love of money” and is, perhaps, the most common definition of Greed. It is
only later that the love of power, possessions and assets was included.Greed has also been
defined as the non-distribution of personal wealth, however much or little you
have. This includes not giving to charitable causes, and I’m sure everyone has
given some money to one charity or another.One of the most despicable
manifestations of Greed is blackmail. There are hundreds of known instances of
gay men being blackmailed because of their sexuality. Many hundreds, if not thousands,
of others have gone unreported. During the pre-Stonewall era many unscrupulous
people took advantage of the laws that existed prohibiting homosexual behaviour
and demanded huge amounts of money, or valuables and property, to “ensure” that
the authorities weren’t informed. Some men were blackmailed into spying on
their country and revealing secrets of national security.If there was any blackmail
case which made a significant impact in the UK it is a fictional one. In 1960
film makers began planning a film about a gay man who is being blackmailed.
Although it didn’t become a blockbuster it is regarded as one of the most
influential films made in the UK between the Wolfenden Report of 1957 which
recommended the decriminalisation of homosexual activity and the Sexual
Offences Act 1967 which implemented it. The film was called “Victim”.“Victim” was significant
for several reasons. First, it was the first British film in which the word
“homosexual” was spoken. Second, it was the first British film to feature
homosexuality in a contemporary setting. Third, it was one of the first films
to depict gay men in a sympathetic leading role.It was also significant in
that a well-known romantic actor took the leading role. Many actors turned down
the role before matinee idol Dirk Bogarde accepted it. But more important than
his acceptance of the role was his desire to see the film depict gay life
realistically. He later wrote that he insisted from the start that “there’s no
point in half measures. We either make a film about queers or we don’t”. It was
only years later when it became apparent that Dirk, Sir Dirk from 1992, was
himself gay.There are reports of many
closeted gay men going to see the film when it was released, creeping into the
cinemas in darkness after it started and sneaking out before it ended, keen to
keep their identities a secret. Many of these men may have been victims of
blackmail themselves. It may also have encouraged some of them to stand up to
greedy blackmailers.To end on a lighter not,
here’s a story of Greed involving a gay man which isn’t about his sexuality.
Nottingham-born Douglas Byng was hugely successful drag and cabaret act in the
UK. By World War II he had become one of the country’s best pantomime Dames. He
had learnt to design and make his own outrageous costumes, most of which
parodied the popular fashions of the time. In the 1930s one of the most popular
fashion items any respectable woman had to have was a short fox-fur cape or wrap
with several fox tails (I remember my grandmother having one – it gave me the
creeps).Douglas Byng parodied this
fox cape by creating one for his pantomimes in which the fox tails were
replaced by loofahs, a very common object found in bathrooms throughout the
country. After the war broke out loofahs became more and more scarce. They were
imported from Asia and, like a lot of other foreign imports, stopped arriving.
The desire for bathroom loofahs didn’t diminish and it wasn’t long before their
value increased.Black Marketeers took
advantage of this situation and soon discovered that people would be prepared
to pay anything for a loofah. Douglas Byng knew that these greedy people would
stop at nothing to get their hands on any loofah they could find and make a
profit out of it. Consequently, Douglas realised his loofah cape was a prime
target for theft. So we have the rather strange situation of Douglas Byng
locking his loofah cape in safes in theatres, hotels and banks everywhere he
toured.And that is Greed. Once
again we have seen the lgbt community being a victim of a Deadly Sin rather
than a perpetrator. But take heart, because according to medieval Christian
folklore those guilty of Greed will all get their punishment on Hell by being
boiled alive in oil for eternity – and only the best oil, of course.

About Me

I was born during a thunderstorm in the summer of 1960 and was brought up in a village in north Nottinghamshire. I attended the sort of school which practiced “history for girls, geography for boys”, but developed a love of history none-the-less.